‘Iolani has built its dynasty on offense, but on Saturday night defense was the key.

The Raiders held off a tough Damien squad to win 19-3 at Aloha Stadium to take its rightful place atop the ILH Division II standings.

‘Iolani improved to 2-2 to match Damien, but the Raiders hold the tiebreaker with the win.

"They had a great game plan and attacked our weak spots and pounded on us," ‘Iolani coach Wendell Look said. "It was smart. We were lucky to make some plays at the end."

With Damien driving with just six minutes left and trailing by six points, Damien running back D.J. Aumua, who finished the game with 199 yards on 19 carries, broke into the secondary on a 16-yard run, but ‘Iolani sophomore defensive back Kevin Matsuoka chased the big man down at the 10-yard line. He couldn’t tackle the beast, so he stripped the ball out of his arms and watched it move straight into the air. A dozen players met the ball when it hit the turf, and when they were peeled off the pile they found ‘Iolani’s Christian Naeole cradling it at the bottom.

"If they did score, that would have been the turning point in the game," Matsuoka said. "I just wanted to make a play for my team. Coach Look is always telling us not to give up on the play."

Two plays later, backup quarterback Austin Jim On hit Keoni-Kordell Makekau on a crossing pattern that Makekau used his speed to turn into an 82-yard touchdown and give the Raiders a comfortable 16-3 lead.

They added a field goal after an interception by Wyatt Ma’a.

The first half was a defensive onslaught with only one big offensive play, but that play was enough to take ‘Iolani into the locker room with the lead. ‘Iolani quarterback Easton Tsubata had trouble finding anyone open until he lofted a 41-yard pass down the sideline that Chase Kanekuni reeled in at the 5-yard line and allowed his momentum to carry him into the end zone.

That gave ‘Iolani a 9-0 lead and it would stay that way after an expensive PAT try. The Raiders tried to go for two on their first attempt and Jordan Ross broke the plane, but a penalty brought it back. ‘Iolani waited for Ross, their leading rusher who had been stopped for 37 yards on eight carries, to hop off the field on his right foot after a long time on the ground being attended to by trainers. Ross did not return.

The hits just kept coming, though, as both teams gathered in a scrum in the middle of the field on the ensuing kickoff. Coaches and referees separated the combatants, and after offsetting personal fouls it was as if it never happened.

But the teams kept it in their memories, and three times in the first half, offsetting personal fouls, chop blocks and helmet-to-helmet hits were nullified.

Even with the offsetting penalties, Damien managed only 9 yards of offense in the first half but stayed within a score when defensive lineman Nathaniel Oishi booted a line-drive of a field goal that just made it over the bar. He missed the chance from farther away one play earlier, but ‘Iolani defenders ran into him to give him a second try.

‘Iolani had 184 yards of offense in the first half, but turned it over once and Damien controlled the field position battle.

Tsubata did not play in the second half, but Look said that that was a planned switch. Tsubata was 11-for-17 for 127 yards in his half and Jim On went 5-for-10 for 111 yards.

What wasn’t planned was playing the second half without Ross. Look says Ross will be fine and will probably play next week against Punahou. Damien plays Saint Louis.

Buffanblu quarterback Larry Tuileta threw for 220 yards and piled up 220 rushing yards in a rout of the Saints.

Tuileta went 4-for-4 for 176 yards and three touchdowns before leaving the game with the rest of the starters early in the second quarter. Kanawai Noa was only targeted twice, but made both catches for touchdowns to rack up 112 yards.

The Buffanblu scored their most points in 40 years by their second drive of the second half. Punahou’s previous high was 57 points against Pac-Five in 2008.

Punahou plays ‘Iolani next week, while St. Francis takes on Pac-Five in an important game between two winless teams.

Kainoa Simao stepped in for Brandon Kahookele and rushed for 202 yards on 24 carries as the Warriors downed the Wolfpack.

Simao scored three times and Kamehameha had 296 yards on the ground without its leading rusher, who coach Doug Cosbie said is healthy but "a little beat up."

Simao’s effort was the third 200-plus-yard performance in seven games by a Kamehameha running back this year. Kahookele has the other two.

Kamehameha attempted only nine passes, completing three for 76 yards.

The Warriors get a week off before playing St. Francis on Oct. 5, while Pac-Five gets the winless Saints on Friday.